Remote monitoring device &amp; process

ABSTRACT

A remote monitoring device is integrated as part of a cell phone or personal digital assistant. By sharing computing resources of a communications transceiver, the cost of a monitoring device can be significantly reduced, while still permitting sufficient functionality to effectively observe an area of interest, such as a child&#39;s sleeping area. An alert is generated and transmitted to an observer using a separate transceiver when activity at the monitored area (i.e., sound or video activity) meets a specified threshold.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

[0001] The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e)of the priority date of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/477,541filed Jun. 10, 2003, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to devices and methods for remotemonitoring, and has particular applicability to systems which are usedin child monitors.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Baby monitors are well-known in the art. Examples of the same canbe seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,329: Monitor/Hands Free Intercom; U.S.Pat. No. 6,593,851; U.S. patent Publication No. US20030122676A1; U.S.patent Publication No. US20030067391A1: Two-way communication babymonitor with a soothing unit; U.S. patent Publication No. 20020101350:Method, Apparatus and System for Remote Baby Monitoring With AdditionalFunctions, and World Application No. WO0241489A2: AUTOMATIC MUTE BY BABYMONITOR, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Most ofthese systems work using an RF based transmitter and receiver to allow amore convenient wireless setup. A limitation of these systems is thefact that they are limited in range, cannot be used in some environmentswhere the signal may be blocked, and are susceptible to interferencefrom conventional portable phone signals and similar appliances.

[0004] A more recent innovation by Logitech identified as “Mobile Video”allows a camera (which can be a form of baby monitoring device) totransmit monitoring information across a communications channel that canthen be seen on a cellular phone. This allows for a greater range ofoperation. More information on such product can be obtained from themanufacturer of such product, and at their website (Logitech.com)

[0005] Another product offering by Cenuco, entitled “Mommytrack” is ababy monitor that allows remote viewing from a PDA device. TheMommyTrack “package” includes a mobile device; two home cameras; awireless base station that connects to a USB port; gateway serveraccess; and special software for both the home PC and the mobilehandheld. While the system is relatively sophisticated, it coststhousands of dollars in additional equipment costs. Moreover, a separatesubscription is required. More information on such product can beobtained from the manufacturer of such product, and at their website(Cenuco.com).

[0006] One limitation of such prior art devices include the fact that aseparate dedicated input capture device must be used as part of thetransmitting portion of the system. In other words, a specializedsound/video receiver must monitor the area of interest, and thentransmit the information to a separate receiver. While theaforementioned Logitech approach solves half the problem (i.e., byallowing a conventional cell phone to pick up the monitored signal) itdoes not completely eliminate the problem of having to invest inadditional hardware for a baby monitoring application.

[0007] A recent U.S. Application to Kaplan—2003/0096580—published May22, 2003 describes using a conventional mobile phone to function as aremote monitoring device. A stimulus (such as video or audio) cantrigger a phone call from a monitoring area to a remote user. A soundcompare circuit is used to determine that the stimulus is indeed anevent that should be reported. The Kaplan reference further comments onthe low power, short range limitations of a conventional FM based babymonitor. To address such limitation, Kaplan proposes using a higherpowered RF transmitter, such as in a mobile phone. Notably, however,Kaplan does not make mention of routing the stimulus data over anythingother than a conventional wireless base station, such as a non-fullduplex, or low bandwidth secondary communications channel; nor does hemention allowing the user to journal or calibrate the monitoring link toallow for variations environments, or for the option of transmittingadditional information along with the stimulus event.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] An object of the present invention, therefore, is to overcome theaforementioned limitations of the prior art;

[0009] Another object is to provide a system and method for monitoringan area, such as a children's sleeping location, using a conventionalcell phone (or PDA);

[0010] A related object is to provide a cell phone or PDA withintegrated monitoring functionality, to reduce a cost associated with aremote monitoring activity.

[0011] A first aspect of the invention concerns a wirelesscommunications transceiver which includes an integrated monitoringcircuit and comprising: a setup circuit for configuring and enabling amonitor mode for the wireless communications transceiver; a detectioncircuit for detecting sensory data signals originating from a monitoredarea when the monitor mode is enabled; a set of selectable monitor modecontrol options within a control menu presented on a display of thewireless communications transceiver, which options include a userselectable predetermined threshold required for an alert to betriggered; and an alert generator circuit for generating an alert whenthe sensory data exceeds the user selectable predetermined threshold andwhen the monitor mode is enabled. The sensory data signals are processedby the communications transceiver and can be transmitted, at leastduring certain portions when the monitor mode is enabled, over atime-delay sensitive wireless communications channel used by thetransceiver for transmitting voice data signals.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the alert is transmitted over anon-delay sensitive communication channel. Conversely, the time-delaysensitive wireless communications channel uses an FDMA, TDMA or CDMAsignal protocol.

[0013] The transceiver can include a monitor status display forcommunicating a status of the monitored area, including a presence of areceived alert. In some applications, the sound detection and analysisintelligence is incorporated in a remote server. An operator of thewireless communications transceiver can adjust the predeterminedthreshold to an amplitude level and an overall activity energy whichmust be met by the sensory data signals before the alert is generated.Typically the sensory data signals correspond to sound signalsoriginating from the monitored area, but can also be other types ofinformation (video).

[0014] A related aspect of the invention concerns a cellular telephonewhich includes an integrated monitoring circuit and comprising: a setupcircuit for configuring and enabling a monitor mode for the wirelesscommunications transceiver; a detection circuit for detecting sensorydata signals originating from a monitored area when the monitor mode isenabled; and an alert generator circuit for generating an alert when thesensory data exceeds a predetermined threshold when the monitor mode isenabled. The set up circuit, the detection circuit and the alertgenerator circuit are implemented in part by sharing a digital signalprocessor (DSP) and a firmware memory which are also used by thecellular telephone for communications tasks associated with receivingand transmitting voice and data signals over a wireless communicationschannel. A transmission circuit transmits the sensory data signals andthe alert to a remote transceiver. The sensory data signals areprocessed by the DSP and transmitted over a voice wirelesscommunications channel used by the transceiver for transmitting voicedata signals, and the alert is transmitted over a separate lowerbandwidth communications channel. Again, in some applications a soundtemplate memory is presented in the cellular phone for storing aspecific sound which must be identified and recognized in the monitoredarea by a shared speech recognition unit within the cellular telephonebefore generating an alert.

[0015] Another aspect of the invention concerns a personal digitalassistant (PDA) which includes a wireless transceiver communicationscapability and an integrated monitoring circuit, and comprising: a setupcircuit for configuring and enabling a monitor mode for the PDA; adetection circuit for detecting sensory data signals originating from amonitored area when the monitor mode is enabled; a journaling circuitfor storing a predetermined monitoring session of data sensory signals;and an alert generator circuit for generating an alert when the sensorydata exceeds a predetermined threshold when the monitor mode is enabled.The set up circuit, the detection circuit and the alert generatorcircuit are implemented in part by sharing a digital signal processor(DSP) and a firmware memory which are also used by the PDA forcommunications tasks associated with receiving and transmitting voiceand data signals over a wireless communications channel. A transmissioncircuit for transmitting the sensory data signals and the alert to aremote transceiver is also included. The sensory data signals areprocessed by the DSP and transmitted over a voice wirelesscommunications channel used by the PDA for transmitting voice datasignals.

[0016] Still another aspect of the invention is directed to a method ofremotely monitoring an area using a wireless communications transceivercomprising the steps of: configuring and enabling a monitor mode for thewireless communications transceiver; specifying monitor mode controloptions within a control menu presented on a display of the wirelesscommunications transceiver, which options include a user selectablepredetermined threshold required for an alert to be triggered; detectingsensory data signals originating from a monitored area when the monitormode is enabled; and generating an alert when the sensory data exceedsthe user selectable predetermined threshold and when the monitor mode isenabled. The sensory data signals are processed by the communicationstransceiver and are transmitted, at least during certain portions whenthe monitor mode is enabled, over a time-delay sensitive wirelesscommunications channel used by the transceiver for transmitting voicedata signals.

[0017] In certain embodiments further steps are performed, such as:transmitting the sensory data signals on a continuous basis to a secondtransceiver in a first communications session, and initiating a secondcommunications session automatically in the event of a failure in thefirst communication session. As noted above, in some instances thesensory data signals (and/or alert) can be routed by a wireless carrieralong with other subscriber-related data from a wireless serviceprovider to a second transceiver. The subscriber-related data caninclude e-mail and/or advertising. In some applications a channel usedfor transmitting the alert is subject to time delays.

[0018] In still other applications ringing features of the wirelesscommunication transceiver are automatically disabled when it is set to amonitor mode. The sensory data signals can be stored in some cases at anInternet service provider server during at least portions of the monitormode.

[0019] Another aspect of the invention concerns a method of remotelymonitoring an area using a wireless communications transceivercomprising the steps of: configuring and enabling a monitor mode for thewireless communications transceiver for a subscriber; detecting sensorydata signals originating from a monitored area when the monitor mode isenabled; generating an alert to the subscriber when the sensory dataexceeds a predetermined threshold when the monitor mode is enabled;transmitting the alert over a wireless communications channel and to acommunications link controlled by an Internet server; and combining thealert with additional information provided by the Internet serverrelating to the subscriber and communicating the same to a secondwireless communications transceiver.

[0020] It will be understood from the Detailed Description that theinventions can be implemented in a multitude of different embodiments.Furthermore, it will be readily appreciated by skilled artisans thatsuch different embodiments will likely include only one or more of theaforementioned objects of the present inventions. Thus, the absence ofone or more of such characteristics in any particular embodiment shouldnot be construed as limiting the scope of the present inventions. Whiledescribed in the context of a baby monitoring system, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that the present teachings could beused in any remote monitoring application.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021]FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a monitoring system implementedin accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0022]FIG. 2A illustrates an embodiment of a monitoringreceiver/transmitter of the present invention;

[0023]FIG. 2B is a block diagram of a monitoring circuit which can beimplemented as part of a PDA or a cell phone in accordance with oneexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0024]FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the steps performed by amonitoring system of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] A preferred embodiment of a long range monitoring system(hereinafter “monitoring system”) 100 of the present invention isillustrated generally in FIG. 1. By “long range” in this instance it ismeant that the overall communications channel from end to end utilizesat least one link that is not limited by an RF distance range, eventhough some RF links may be used for intermediary links. Thus, theoverall range of the present invention extends significantly beyond thatafforded by conventional solutions.

[0026] Monitor area 110 corresponds to an area which must be monitoredfor activity, such as images, sound, video, etc., associated with anentity 115. In a preferred approach, entity 115 is a small child who maybe sleeping or engaging in some other activity which may require somemeasure of supervisions. Often a parent or other guardian who leaves thevicinity of monitor area 110 will nonetheless wish to be alerted whensuch child wakes, cries, is distressed, etc. The child or other entitythus generates sensory data (e.g., a sound signal) 120 which is capturedby a transceiver 130.

[0027] Transceiver 130 is preferably a cell phone, a personal digitalassistant, or some other small portable communications device which, incontrast to the prior art, is capable of both receiving and transmittinga communications signal, and which has been adapted to include anintegrated monitoring functionality as noted below. Moreover transceiver130 is preferably self-powered (battery or other means) so that it doesnot have to be used in area that includes a source of electricity. Thus,unlike prior art systems, the invention does not require a setup,purchase or use of other monitoring equipment that may be difficult toimplement in any particular monitor area. For instance, it is notpractical or possible to use conventional monitoring devices in thewilderness or other remote areas, where an infant may be sleeping, forexample, in a tent. In other cases, it is impractical to bring alongsuch equipment when visiting other persons, or when staying at otheraccommodations away from one's home—such as motels, hotels, etc. The useof a transceiver with integrated monitoring functionality avoids almostall of these problems, since cell phones are already widely adopted inthe population, and the areas of coverage are almost ubiquitous.

[0028] Again, other sensory data signals may be received by atransceiver 130, such as video, still images, and other area-relatedsensory data, such as temperature, humidity, and even signals related todetections of certain chemicals (i.e., smoke, carbon monoxide, etc.).For example, certain types of electronic chemical.“nose” integratedcircuits are known in the art, and could be integrated into atransceiver.

[0029] An optional speaker 135 can also be connected to communicatesound or other data feedback back to the monitor area 110.

[0030] Signal 120 is then communicated by transceiver to one or morecommunications channels which may include, for example a wirelesschannel 135 to be routed by a wireless service provider (such as AT&I)or a wireless channel 136 to be routed by a wireless Internet serviceprovider 190. Regardless of the path taken, the signal information fromthe monitor area 110 is then preferably wirelessly transmitted to areception/detection area 140.

[0031] At this location it is then received by a transceiver 150, whichis preferably (but not necessarily) adapted in the same way astransceiver 130 to include a monitoring function. Transceiver 150 mayinclude a display area 155 for observing monitoring information, as wellas a separate speaker 170 for reproducing sound originating and relayedfrom monitor area 110.

[0032] Transceiver 150 is used by an observer 160, which, again, istypically a person but which could be another form of electronicguardian in other applications. In some applications, transceiver 150may be simply a conventional cell phone, PDA or other communicationdevice that is not adapted to have a monitoring transmitting orreporting capability. In other words, the monitoring information relayedfrom transceiver 130 may be picked up by a conventional cell phone, andthe observer 160 could simply listen using a conventional earphonepiece. Therefore, it is only necessary to have the transmittingtransceiver 130 adapted with the present invention. This allows formixing and matching of different types of communicators from differentmanufacturers, and eliminates the need to have two identical devices.

[0033] A block diagram of a monitoring circuit 180 is shown in FIG. 2A,which, as noted earlier, is integrated within transceiver 130, andoptionally within transceiver 150 as well. An antenna 136receives/transmits conventional wireless signals routed by a wirelesscarrier over a wireless channel. These signals may be based on a TDMA,FDMA, CDMA or similar wireless communications protocol. These signalsare then converted by an analog front end circuit 181, where they areconverted to digital form and processed by a digital signal processor182. DSP 182 operates in accordance with programmed firmware 183, whichmay be a memory integrated within DSP 182, or may be part of a separateprogrammed memory such as ROM or Flash. An input device (typically amicrophone) 184 is used to provide audio/video data from a user oftransceiver 130 to be communicated back over the channel by antenna 136.All of the above elements are well-known conventional components of acell phone (or PDA that includes wireless communications capability) andthus the details are not described here.

[0034] The present invention is integrated into a first transceiver 130by virtue of the following components. First, a monitor selectioncircuit 185 is used to enable and configure a monitoring mode for firsttransceiver 130. The monitor selection circuit 185 is engageable by auser through a selection of keystrokes entered on keypad 186. Keypad 186may be a conventional keypad for a cell phone, or could be a set ofseparate dedicated keys for a monitoring function. For example, mostcell phones include an electronic programming menu and memory foractivating and changing behavior of a device, including with suchfeatures as altering a ringing behavior, adjusting a time display,entering a phonebook of speed dial numbers, etc. The present invention,therefore, could be simply identified as another menu selection item ona setup feature of a cell phone.

[0035] The monitoring mode could thus be enabled and initiated eitherthrough a set of keystrokes on a conventional keypad, or it could betriggered in response to a dedicated additional key or button on thefront or side of a conventional transceiver. Regardless of how themonitoring mode is activated, it is thereafter controlled by additionalroutines contained within control firmware 183. Thus the monitoringfeatures, operations, etc., are preferably integrated within a commonfirmware control memory that is used for conventional communicationsfunctions. This again, serves to reduce the cost of implementing amonitoring feature.

[0036] The monitoring mode circuit 180 includes two additional functionsimplemented (preferably) in firmware, namely signal level detector 188and signal duration (or even signal recognition) detector 189. Theoperations of these two routines is explained further below.

[0037] Another component of monitoring mode circuit 180 is a monitormode indicator circuit 187. The latter is used, for example, to indicatethe status of a monitoring mode, such as, for example, whether thelatter is on or off Thus, this circuit could be as simple as a singlelight emitting diode (LED) to signify that a monitoring mode is active.In other instances, the indicator circuit could be integrated as part ofthe display unit of the cell phone or PDA, again, to reduce expense andsize. Accordingly, it will be understood that the monitoring modefunctions/status indicators could be integrated, presented and displayedon an existing display of a conventional communications device, using acustomized monitor “indicator” of some form. The monitor mode indicatorcould be expressed as a symbol, a phrase, etc. Other examples will beapparent to those skilled in the art.

[0038] While enabled in a monitoring mode, transceiver 130 picks upsensory data from monitored area 110 and transmits the same (eithercontinuously or intermittently) to second remote transceiver 150. Again,to improve integration and reduce costs, the sensory data signalsoriginating from the monitored area are processed, transmitted androuted over a wireless channel in the same fashion as is done forconventional voice data signals originating from transceiver 130. In asimplified scenario, for example, the transceiver behaves like analways-on speaker phone transmitting continuously over a voice datachannel to the second transceiver as if a conversation were ongoingduring the entire monitoring time period.

[0039] A simplified perspective of the structural and visual appearanceof transceivers 130, 150 is shown in FIG. 2B. It should be noted, ofcourse, that first transceiver 130 could have a similar if not identicalappearance. A receiving transceiver, however, preferably has anindicator 155 for displaying monitored signal status informationoriginating and received from the monitored area. Again, however, thisindicator could be part of a display area integrated within aconventional display. The indicator 155 could be as simple as merelyturning a conventional display on/off, to signify the detection of asignificant sound event at monitored area 110, so that an observer 160would be alerted to pick up the transceiver and listen for the signalbeing received. Other variations for a monitor signal status indicator155 will be apparent from the present disclosure.

[0040] Speaker 170 is shown separately, because it is preferably apowered system of some kind that can amplify a received signal from themonitored area. The use of a speaker with a conventional transceiver mayobviate the need for a second transceiver which is adapted to include amonitor signal status indicator.

[0041] A preferred monitoring process 300 practiced by embodiments ofthe claimed invention is shown in a flow chart form in FIG. 3. It willbe understood by those skilled in the art that a variety of conventionalelectrical circuits, firmware, etc. of a conventional cell phone and/orPDA can be modified and/or augmented to perform these tasks, and thatthe actual implementation will vary from platform to platform.

[0042] Thus, as seen at step 310, a first step is to set a firsttransceiver 130 to a monitor mode within a monitor area 110. The monitormode may be enabled and configured as noted earlier. As part of thisstep, an additional optional calibrating step may be implemented. Duringsuch time, a user can determine and set a sensitivity rating of a firsttransmitting transceiver and a second receiving transceiver, to ensurethat target sound activities within the monitoring area result in analert to the second receiving transceiver.

[0043] In yet another variation, a user can record a child's voiceprint, a child's cry, or some other sound event to be stored in the formof a digital sound template on the transceiver within the same memorynoted earlier for firmware 183—i.e., a flash memory. The sound templatecan then be used later to confirm a match to a sound analyzed by a soundrecognition detector within the transceiver to generate an alert. Sincemany cellphones are expected to be equipped with a speech recognizer,this again allows for a dual use of such technology, including as partof a monitoring system. Finally, the user then also specifies a callingnumber, or other ID of a second transceiver which the first transceiverwill communicate with, and thus treat as the observer for the monitoringactivities.

[0044] Step 320 occurs while the area of interest is being monitored,and the user has left the first transceiver 130 in place to observeactivities of the monitored area 110. An overall sound level of themonitored area is thus registered at step 320 in response to a soundevent, under control of sound level detector routine 188 as noted above.This sampling may be performed continuously, or on an intermittent basisperiodically to save power.

[0045] At steps 330 and 340, a series of determinations are made bysound event evaluator 189 in response to the sound event. For example,only sound events above a certain threshold should trigger an alert, toavoid generating excessive false alarms. Similarly, only sound eventslonger than a certain duration, or meeting an overall energy level, ormatching a stored and recognized sound template, should be registered assufficiently noteworthy for generating an alert. All of theseparameters, again, can be set during the setup of a monitor modeselection circuit 185, or a later time at transceiver 150 in response tofeedback suggesting that they are not set appropriately for a particularsetting.

[0046] It should be apparent that these settings will vary according tothe type of event being detected, and the type of sensory data beingmonitored. In the context of a video based sensory data monitor, anobserver would likely wish to be informed of changes in the image, butonly as a result of significant movement. For example, the observer maywish to be alerted when a child has changed from a sleeping position toa sitting up position. Other examples will be apparent to skilledartisans. The system could be programmed to ignored smaller movements,such as a child rolling over on one side. Again, the degree of movementcould be calibrated as desired, and the degree of image activity and/orchange from frame to frame could be monitored and evaluated using any ofa variety of known techniques to determine if a trigger event hasoccurred.

[0047] At step 350, assuming the sound event (or other detectedactivity) exceeds the established threshold, an alert event is thentriggered. The alert could include one or more of the followingactivities: (1) placing a call to the second transceiver to cause thelatter to generate a ringing sound; (2) sending an audible controlsignal, tone, etc. from first transceiver 130 to second transceiver thatcan be detected by a human observer in detection area 140, eitherdirectly or through amplification with speaker 170; (3) sending anon-audible control signal from first transceiver 130 to secondtransceiver 150 to cause a monitor status indicator 155 to change statein a manner that can be identified by an observer 160. Other types ofalerts and indicators will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0048] Thus, at step 360, depending on the form of indicator selected,the alert is then communicated to the second transceiver 150. The alertcan be sent over a conventional communications channel used by the cellphone, or a special control channel that may be reserved by a wirelesscarrier for such purpose. In other words, since an alert is an extremelylow bandwidth requirement event, and does not require a real-time, fullduplex channel, it can be handled by a wireless carrier using a varietyof secondary communications channels that do not impact normal voicetraffic, and which are relatively inexpensive. For example, the alertcould be sent over a pager type UHF network, and/or over a wirelessmessage network connection (such as WAP) to the transceiver. The alertcould consist of a specialized message, text, sound, etc. As part of thealert, the first transceiver could also place a direct call to thesecond transceiver to establish a direct end to end link from themonitor area to the observer area. This approach has the benefit of nottying up either transceiver for regular voice/data communications.

[0049] In at least some embodiments it may be preferred nonetheless thatthe two transceivers maintain a continuous communications channel. Thisis useful in those situations where an observer desires to constantlymonitor a triggering event quickly and directly to evaluate the receivedinformation. In other words, an observer may want to hear the soundevent (or see the video image) directly to see if a child has actuallywoken up, the level of distress which the child is exhibiting, etc. Thesensory data from the monitored area, in this instance, is treated astime sensitive data, and is thus preferably directly transmitted overthe same type of wireless communication channel normally used forvoice/data traffic by the transceiver.

[0050] At step 370, an observer can send feedback information back fromsecond transceiver 150 to first transceiver 130. This can be used, forexample, to communicate soothing sounds by a parent to a child throughspeaker 135 before the parent can return and attend to the childdirectly. Other uses for the feedback will be apparent.

[0051] From the above it is apparent that a monitoring function can beeasily integrated into a conventional cell phone or PDA to increase thefunctionality of the latter at very little cost. In some cases thetransceivers may be inexpensive standalone units that are given topatrons of a resort facility to assist in monitoring their children inlieu of a cell phone.

[0052] If the monitoring mode is set to a continuous transmission mode,and there is a disruption (drop-off) in a communications channel, thefirst transceiver 130 can be programmed to auto-and repeat dial until itre-establishes a connection. The drop off event can also be communicatedusing the monitor signal status indicator 155 for the benefit of theobserver 160.

[0053] In the case where an intermediary Internet based routing link isused through an Internet provider 190, additional information (asidefrom the trigger event) may be communicated to an observer. For example,e-mail, advertising or other similar subscriber information could bepresented by a wireless carrier along with the monitoring information tosecond transceiver 150, based on activating a monitor mode betweentransceiver units.

[0054] Furthermore, when set to a monitor mode, a transceiver mayselectively disable other features automatically, such as ringing, callwaiting, etc., so as to not interfere with the monitor area ambientconditions, or the monitoring functions. The transceiver 130 returns tonormal, or otherwise specified default settings in response to thede-activation of the monitor mode.

[0055] During a monitor mode setup, the devices can also be set to entera monitor mode automatically after a first user defined period of time,and to shut off automatically after a second period of time has elapsed.In other words, the monitor mode could be set to start at 6:00 p.m., andto run for 2 hours. Other variations will be apparent to those skilledin the art. This feature would allow a person to use the invention to(remotely) attend a business meeting at a later time for example, byleaving the transceiver in a conference room or other designated meetingarea. When the transceiver enters the monitor mode, it automaticallysets up a communications channel and link for the specified duration toa predetermined second transceiver. As noted earlier, a journalingfeature might be used with the cooperation of an Internet Serviceprovider to help record business and personal conversations withouthaving to rely on bringing an additional recorder to a meeting.

[0056] In other instances it may be desirable to “journal” the soundactivity (or video activity as the case may be) from the monitor area110 for archiving purposes. Since many ISPs now provide extensive datastorage facilities for subscribers, the monitoring information could bestored directly on an Internet server to obviate the need for localstorage on a small transceiver.

[0057] Finally, in some instances the sound eventcapture/comparison/recognition operations could be performed instead bya wireless internet provider 190. In other words, one more target soundsto be detected and recognized (for example a child's cry, a child'svoice, etc.) could be stored in a template on an wireless accessedinternet server. During a monitoring session, the sounds from themonitoring area could be continuously compared to such target soundtemplates to recognize a particular event and verify a match. Thisavoids having to allocate storage space on the transceivers for thesound profiles, and/or the sound matching activities. In such cases thetransceiver could essentially act as a passive listener while the soundprocessing intelligence resides on a wireless online service provider.

[0058] While the present invention is presented in the context ofmonitoring sound activities by children, other uses will be apparent tothose skilled in the art. The invention can be employed in a widevariety of applications to support remote monitoring using cell phones,PDAs and similar communications devices, and without requiring dedicatedand expensive detection equipment on both sides of a monitoring link.

[0059] The above descriptions are intended as merely illustrativeembodiments of the proposed inventions. It is understood that theprotection afforded the present invention also comprehends and extendsto embodiments different from those above, but which fall within thescope of the present claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wireless communications transceiver whichincludes an integrated monitoring circuit, the wireless communicationtransceiver comprising: (a) a setup circuit for configuring and enablinga monitor mode for the wireless communications transceiver; (b) adetection circuit for detecting sensory data signals originating from amonitored area when said monitor mode is enabled; (c) a set ofselectable monitor mode control options within a control menu presentedon a display of the wireless communications transceiver, which optionsinclude a user selectable predetermined threshold required for an alertto be triggered; (d) an alert generator circuit for generating an alertwhen said sensory data exceeds said user selectable predeterminedthreshold and when said monitor mode is enabled; wherein said sensorydata signals are processed by the communications transceiver and can betransmitted, at least during certain portions when said monitor mode isenabled, over a time-delay sensitive wireless communications channelused by the transceiver for transmitting voice data signals.
 2. Thewireless communications transceiver of claim 1, wherein said alert istransmitted over a non-delay sensitive communication channel.
 3. Thewireless communications transceiver of claim 1, wherein the time-delaysensitive wireless communications channel uses an FDMA, TDMA or CDMAsignal protocol.
 4. The wireless communications transceiver of claim 1,further including a monitor status display for communicating a status ofsaid monitored area, including a presence of a received alert.
 5. Thewireless communications transceiver of claim 1, wherein said userselectable predetermined threshold adjusts a setting of a soundprocessor located at a remote server, and which sound processor isadapted for identifying a predetermined sound.
 6. The wirelesscommunications transceiver of claim 1, wherein said predeterminedthreshold corresponds to an amplitude level and an overall activityenergy which must be met by said sensory data signals before said alertis generated.
 7. The wireless communications transceiver of claim 1,wherein the detection circuit detects sensory data signals correspondingto sound signals originating from the monitored area.
 8. A cellulartelephone which includes an integrated monitoring circuit, the cellulartelephone comprising: (a) a setup circuit for configuring and enabling amonitor mode for the wireless communications transceiver; (b) adetection circuit for detecting sensory data signals originating from amonitored area when said monitor mode is enabled; (c) an alert generatorcircuit for generating an alert when said sensory data exceeds apredetermined threshold when said monitor mode is enabled; wherein saidset up circuit, said detection circuit and said alert generator circuitare implemented in part by sharing a digital signal processor (DSP) anda firmware memory which are also used by the cellular telephone forcommunications tasks associated with receiving and transmitting voiceand data signals over a wireless communications channel; (d) atransmission circuit for transmitting said sensory data signals and saidalert to a remote transceiver; wherein said sensory data signals areprocessed by the DSP and transmitted over a voice wirelesscommunications channel used by the transceiver for transmitting voicedata signals, and said alert is transmitted over a separate lowerbandwidth communications channel.
 9. The cellular telephone of claim 8,further including a sound template memory for storing a specific soundwhich must be identified and recognized in the monitored area by ashared speech recognition unit within the cellular telephone beforegenerating an alert.
 10. A personal digital assistant (PDA) whichincludes a wireless transceiver communications capability and anintegrated monitoring circuit, the PDA comprising: (a) a setup circuitfor configuring and enabling a monitor mode for the PDA; (b) a detectioncircuit for detecting sensory data signals originating from a monitoredarea when said monitor mode is enabled; (c) a journaling circuit forstoring a predetermined monitoring session of data sensory signals; (d)an alert generator circuit for generating an alert when said sensorydata exceeds a predetermined threshold when said monitor mode isenabled; wherein said set up circuit, said detection circuit and saidalert generator circuit are implemented in part by sharing a digitalsignal processor (DSP) and a firmware memory which are also used by thePDA for communications tasks associated with receiving and transmittingvoice and data signals over a wireless communications channel; (e) atransmission circuit for transmitting said sensory data signals and saidalert to a remote transceiver; wherein said sensory data signals areprocessed by the DSP and transmitted over a voice wirelesscommunications channel used by the PDA for transmitting voice datasignals.
 11. A method of remotely monitoring an area using a wirelesscommunications transceiver which includes an integrated monitoringcircuit, the method comprising the steps of: (a) configuring andenabling a monitor mode for the wireless communications transceiver; (b)specifying monitor mode control options within a control menu presentedon a display of the wireless communications transceiver, which optionsinclude a user selectable predetermined threshold required for an alertto be triggered; (c) detecting sensory data signals originating from amonitored area when said monitor mode is enabled; (d) generating analert when said sensory data exceeds said user selectable predeterminedthreshold and when said monitor mode is enabled; wherein said sensorydata signals are processed by the communications transceiver and aretransmitted, at least during certain portions when said monitor mode isenabled, over a time-delay sensitive wireless communications channelused by the transceiver for transmitting voice data signals.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, further including a step: transmitting said sensorydata signals on a continuous basis to a second transceiver in a firstcommunications session.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein a secondcommunications session is automatically initiated in the event of afailure in said first communication session.
 14. The method of claim 11,wherein said sensory data signals are routed by a wireless carrier alongwith other subscriber-related data from a wireless service provider to asecond transceiver, said subscriber-related data including e-mail and/oradvertising.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein said alert is routed bya wireless carrier along with other subscriber-related data from awireless service provider to a second transceiver, saidsubscriber-related data including e-mail and/or advertising.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, wherein a channel used for transmitting said alertis subject to time delays.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein ringingfeatures of said wireless communication transceiver are automaticallydisabled when it is set to a monitor mode.
 18. The method of claim 11,wherein said sensory data signals are stored at an Internet serviceprovider server during at least portions of said monitor mode.
 19. Themethod of claim 11, wherein said wireless communication transceiver is acell phone or personal digital assistant.
 20. A method of remotelymonitoring an area using a wireless communications transceiver whichincludes an integrated monitoring circuit, the method comprising thesteps of: (a) configuring and enabling a monitor mode for the wirelesscommunications transceiver for a subscriber; (b) detecting sensory datasignals originating from a monitored area when said monitor mode isenabled; (c) generating an alert to said subscriber when said sensorydata exceeds a predetermined threshold when said monitor mode isenabled; (d) transmitting said alert over a wireless communicationschannel and to a communications link controlled by an Internet server;(e) combining said alert with additional information provided by theInternet server relating to the subscriber and communicating the same toa second wireless communications transceiver.
 21. The method of claim20, further including a step: (f) journaling said alerts at saidInternet server.
 22. The method of claim 20, further including a step:(f) journaling said sensory data signals at said Internet server. 23.The method of claim 20, wherein said alert is transmitted over a channelwhich is not a full duplex channel.
 24. The method of claim 20, whereinsaid monitor mode can be programmed for a specified period of time onthe wireless communications transceiver.
 25. The method of claim 20,wherein said Internet server includes a sound processor for identifyinga target sound which should trigger said alert.